PaskongPinoy is truly like no other. The chilly morning walks to Simbang Gabi, the puto bumbong and tsokolate, the Christmas carols, and the hearty Noche Buena of ham, quezo de bola, and sweet spaghetti.

Basta’t magkakasama-sama. “Filipinos are intrinsically close-knit,” says Rene Borromeo, a sociologist who once conducted a study on OFW families for a foundation. “We love to congregate. Any occasion is a cause for celebration, more so when you’re away. It’s innate in us, stemming from an old tradition of having extended families and our value system of pakikisama, utang na loob, and the like,” Borromeo says. This strong sense of kinship is what makes the Pinoy resilient.

Filipinos thrive on kinship and family ties. Borromeo adds, “His strong sense of family even in the person of his kababayan, serves as a buffer for homesickness and loneliness. Pinoys thrive on kinship and family ties. They bring out their innate joie de vivre ‘basta’t magkakasama-sama’ – happiness in togetherness.’”

Connected by the heart of the Paskong Pinoy tradition. “You can talk with Pinoys from across the globe, and they all have this to say: They may bring with them the local flavor of spending the holidays in whatever part of the world they are, but nothing beats the fun of a true-blue Pinoy Christmas.”